And by "strikes" I mean out! Reliable Source is no longer on the drop-down for any button at the top of the web page - not Lifestyle or Entertainment! I had to go into the long list of blogs and columns to find you. That is just NOT okay!

A: Amy Argetsinger

Hmmm, looks like yet another redesign -- though I just checked, and while the entire thing looks like a third-geration Xerox, and it takes you to our most recent (minor) post rather than the entire column, we're there, under both Lifestyle and Entertainment.

I found her comments about her 62 year-old voice refreshing. A lot of performers ignore the effects of aging on their vocal chords and singing ability. For rock stars, we may not notice, but for a soloist/musical theatre-type like Lupone, it would be obvious. That said, her "bad performance" would probably still be pretty good!

A: Roxanne Roberts

It sounded very good to this non-singer's ear, but she's smart about lowering expectations. She also has a terriffic pianist who works with her. All that said, Patti on a bad day is better that most others on a good. But there is a point where the smart thing to do is gracefully retire. I've seen Barbara Cook perform over the past few years and --athough the audiences were very kind--I wish she wasn't singing in public any more.

I love to go to zoos! It was always a stop on any family vacation, to go to a local zoo and/or aquarium. Entertainment and education all in one place! I hope Newt learned something from the penguin, though.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Me too, although I don't go enough. When my son was younger I could blackmail him into going with me on Mother's Day, when I would drag him around for hours.

Instead of state dinners and Capitol Hill celeb appearances, have Amy and Roxanne ever considered hanging out at a GSA retreat/team building exercise? That seems to be about the most glamorous thing going on in DC. Imagine being able to get a 2,000 sq. ft Vegas suite w/hot tub for a government rate!

A: Amy Argetsinger

No kidding. I want a session with a mindreader and a build-a-bicycle contest! I'll pass on the commemorative coin, though -- whose idea was that?

The man who invented scratching at a launch party for the book Groove Music. He even took to the turntables to show his stuff. I was very tempted to ask him to scratch my back, but I'm proud to say I refrained from doing so.

Greg Mortenson is now being sued for lying in his book. How unusual is this (the suit, not the lying)? I understand when memoirs are written, they usually present information from the writer's perspective and thus may not be entirely accurate. What makes this lawsuit worthy (no that I support lying)?

So, what info on the shuttle Discovery? Relationships? Favorite area restaurant? Rather large residence, I see....

A: Roxanne Roberts

You mean Diz? You know the type: Jet-setter who used to go out ALL the time, now just sits at home and watches IMAX films about his glory days. A little worn around the edges. Has his buddies over for Tang and freeze-dried pizza.

Don't these guys know: you always pay the hookers. Especially when you are traveling on government time. They deserve to be fired for stupidity as much as immorality (although probably most of all for skeezyness.)

A: Amy Argetsinger

Yes, but what if the hookers then say, oh, you agreed to pay them more? Hookers are basically a no-win situation.

I beg to differ. Many people subscribe to the theory that a woman's voice gets better with age. Mellowing like fine wine or good cheese. Barbara Cook knows how to heat up the house and I personally hope she never stops singing.

I think the main problem Kim had with Kris was that he wasn't famous enough. Kanye will do nicely for her career.

A: Roxanne Roberts

I hope Kim has a good investment adviser because ---and this could just be me---I'm pretty bored by her. It's one thing to have no talent (although she is GORGEOUS in person), it's another to have no wit or personality. I'm not sure even Kayne can keep her boat afloat for much longer.

Does the Obama eatting dog story pretty much take the Romeny dog on the car roof story off the table ?

A: Roxanne Roberts

Nope. One is a cultural practice in a foreign country where Obama--as a kid---likely had no say in the matter. Romney was an adult here in the USA when he put his dog on a car roof---not a standard practice here.

1. OK, so I'm NOT a Nugent fan and never was, but, just to be picky, he was in Damn Yankees, which had a huge hit with "High Enough" sometime around 1990, so let's make that 22 years. (Yes, I'm a little ashamed to say I remember because I saw them in concert, and I remember the timing of it because Nugent went on some rant about Saddam Hussein and then shot a photo of him with his crossbow, which I guess was/is his "thing," but in my defense, I was young, and it also had Tommy Shaw from Styx, as well as someone from Night Ranger -- wait, this isn't helping, is it? -- and they were on a double bill with Paul Rodgers from Bad Company -- OK, then I give up, there is no defense.) 2. He gets a lot of attention because, frankly, the hard right wing doesn't have a lot of celebrities to parade around, so people like Jon Voight and Victoria Jackson get WAY more attention than liberal D-listers ever could (since we libs have Brangelina and Clooney and Baldwin and pretty much everyone else at the Oscars), so it's a much lower bar and the next thing you know, people are paying attention to Ted Nugent.

Could be someone who looks vaguely trustworthy like Tom Hanks or Kevin Kline or Harrison Ford. Or it could be someone scary like the inept mayor from Spin City (Barry Bostwick) or Daniel Day Lewis in full Method mode.

A: Amy Argetsinger

Barry Bostwick is a good addition to the list. I'd be okay with that. And yes, Kline and Ford have actually played POTUS already; and DDL is gearing up to.

I don't know a lot about the standard economics of these situations, but, by all reports, the "lady" didn't seem to be unreasonable in her request. These guys were trying to get a two-for-one! So, these guys embarrassed the service, possibly compromised the safety of the President AND made Americans look cheap! For shame!

Those photos of Hillary having a good time where really great. If more of that had been available during the 2008 campaign, who knows what would have happened...

A: Roxanne Roberts

Don't know if it would have changed things in 2008. We've been watching the evolution of Hillary over the past couple years, and she's become much more fun and user-friendly as Secretary of State than she ever was as a candidate.

Which celebrity, who has not spoken up yet, would you most like to become a celebvocate? And for what issue?

A: Amy Argetsinger

Oh, that is a very very very good question. I'm trying to think of someone who has been cause-less that I'm actually interested in hearing from. Okay, Merle Haggard. Drawing a blank beyond that. How about you?

following the chat while eating lunch and was interested in to see the Diz photo Amy linked to. Yet another ad video you have to watch before seeing the gallery (same with the Peeps earlier this month). So I didn't. I'm a daily/Sunday subscriber and would love to have the secret code for viewing the photos without the ads. The ads are backfiring, aren't they, if no one watches? Have NO idea what or who is being advertised because as soon as one of those starts, I click away.

A: Amy Argetsinger

I'm with you. I had been trying to hunt down that photo to answer the earlier shuttle question, and by the time I found the gallery and sat through the ad and clicked through to #36, Rox had long since answered it.

From what I understand, yes --but not for U.S. government employees. One report I read said investigators are able to interview all the women because they were required to give their ID's to the hotel before going up to the rooms.

So why didn't that many people get excited about space shuttles when they were actually being used as space shuttles? Maybe if NASA had flown it over DC a few times over the past 30 years the shuttle program would still have public support.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Oh, it's like a restaurant that goes out of business: Everyone shows up the last week and says how great it was and how it's a real loss. But they didn't love it enough to actually go there. Same with NASA and the shuttles.

At first, I thought what's the big deal that the Secret Service agents were seeing prostitutes? Then I realized the enormous safety risk this poses to our country - since they can be tricked/coerced into giving information on the President's plans and whereabouts, can be blackmailed, etc. It's a really serious thing.

A: Roxanne Roberts

It is. The issue is not that anything happened that risked the president security--- but that it COULD have because these agents had Obama's schedule. The fact is, any one of the hookers could have been someone hired to get sensitive information from the agents.

Will Roger Ailes face any serious consequences (I hope) from FOX News for falsely calling Soledad O'Brien "that girl who's named after a prison"? (CNN reported that her parents, who met at Mass, in fact named her after a saint). And what about Ailes calling O'Brien "girl"? Can you imagine the hue and cry if he'd referred to a Hispanic male as a "boy"???

A: Amy Argetsinger

You know, I didn't keep up with this one. Is it just me, or are there just too many examples these days of famous people saying stupid stuff and everyone else getting mad?

Yes, I know -- with Patty Duke Astin as Martha and Jacqueline Smith, um, whats her name, the other lady he liked. But point being, I think Bostwick has the sufficient gravitas to play a generic, fictional, modern-dress president as well.

An annoying little by-product of the Secret Service scandal is that we're getting the image of the Salahis crashing the White House state dinner again, as yet another instance of the Secret Service falling short.

A: Amy Argetsinger

Yes, I've seen that infamous red-carpet walk about five times in the past couple days.

Did you see the video of the mega millions winners in Illinois from this morning? They are so cute! They are just like that Uncle and Aunt that you are most excited to see at holidays! Good for them for coming forward and not hiding like cowards behind anonymity!

A: Roxanne Roberts

Did not. Let me just say, however, that I've thought too much about this and would ABSOLUTELY try to remain anonymous if I won a big jackpot. Laws differ from state to state; both Kansas and Maryland allow winner to claim prizes without public disclosure. Don't know about Illinois. No matter how adorable this couple is, their lives will NOT be better for going public with their new wealth.

I've been wondering this for a few weeks. How in the world did that MD woman make the news for claiming to have the winning Mega Millions ticket? How did that story get started and why did her 15 minutes continue even after it was determined that she was bat guano crazy?

A: Amy Argetsinger

Because these days, no one is particularly interested in checking facts before they move a story, so long as they think you'll click on it. And then when it turns out not to be true, they can always move another story you'll happily click on that says, "lady was lying!" Suckers.

Call me cynical, but I really think a "fun" Hillary would not have succeeded politically, either. A woman in politics is damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. If you're assertive, you're a humorless b*, if you show a fun, human side, you're not serious enough to be a politician, etc.

$800,000 sounds like a lot, but I just went to a medical conference recently and my company shelled out about 1500 for a three-day trip, and there were about 100 people there, so this conference cost roughly 150,000. When you are dealing with catering and hotel expenses, it's pretty easy to rack up a serious bill without being ridiculous. I hate to defend the GSA, but surely there are many more egregious examples of government waste. I don't get why this one is getting SO much attention.

A: Amy Argetsinger

There's a difference between a private sector conference and a government conference -- and it sounds like this GSA one might still have been more expensive than yours. Having said that -- yes, there are probably (certainly) bigger examples of government waste, but they're maybe a little more arcane and harder to understand than something like this.

Congratulations to Ryan & his lovely fiancee. I hope he & Michael Morse schedule their weddings so that everyone can make it to both. For those with 20-something daughters, five words--Jordan Zimmermann or Tyler Clippard (although as of the All-Star game Clip had a girl friend, but Drew Storen is his local roomie!).

Nah - he never quite seems to nail the serious roles to me...always seems like he's trying too hard or trying not to laugh. I'll never not see him as a clown. Hey, maybe that means he's perfect for the role!

I'm a woman who was in the military. Our crew visited Cartegena in fact. I was shocked by the behavior of so-called upstanding family men. I thought these guys were good guys, and I finally came to the conclusion that they were as long as I didn't take into account their behavior whilst in foreign countries. Being in a foreign country seems to make people feel as though their marriage vows don't apply.

The problem with Roger Ailes calling Soledad "that girl who's named after a prison" is that he's dismissing her value as a news anchor with a single racist, sexist slur against Hispanic females. Imagine if he'd done something comparable re a Black male anchor.

Apparently if a state requires you to make your name public after winning the lottery there is a way around it. You can set up a trust or something. They were talking about it on the radio the other day. So you need to get a lawyer as soon as you win to protect your anonymous status!!

A: Roxanne Roberts

Unclear how much of that is true ---in fact, I mentioned this to a Post editor for a story because I'd love to know. (Seems like a good reason to start buying more of my lottery tickets in Maryland.) But you need a lawyer in any case.

Has to be Martin Sheen, if only because I'd get a real kick out of seeing (or imagining) his West Wing staff trying to handle the Veep. Imagine Toby's rage or CJ's wit. Even if only for one episode a season!!!

A: Amy Argetsinger

Actually, I think we've created some confusion here. "Veep" doesn't show the president and doesn't (so far as I know) plan to. But I argue that's a good call, because really, too often on TV you see someone playing the president who just doesn't have the gravitas for it. Hence the need for our pre-approved list.

There are tons of things that I think are really cool but would never pay for when I realized that my interest is mostly....that it is really cool and rare. I admit that I got really excited seeing the shuttle go by (once in a lifetime, so out of the ordinary - in fact, if it came by often over the past 30 years, I doubt I would have thought it was so cool), but that doesn't mean that I think it would be worth the money it would cost to extend the program.

A: Roxanne Roberts

That's one of NASA's problems: Most everyone thinks space exploration is cool, but how does it stack up to other government programs and needs? Tough call.

It is legal in Colombia. According to news reports, even the swankiest hotels allow men to bring working girls up to their rooms, under these rules: the women must be registered (have to sign a book), they can't come in until after 11 at night, they must leave before 6 a.m. and they can't be seen in the public areas. Knowing the trail they were leaving, I am stunned that Secret Service and military personnel got into a dustup about payment. Remarkably stupid.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Remarkable. And haggling over the price the next morning? Even dumber.